Houston Strategies

Attracting jobs to match our population growth

It's one of those chicken and egg problems: Do new jobs attract new residents? Or do new residents create and attract new jobs? The answer is a little bit of both. For instance, Austin and DFW have continued to add lots of residents over the last 5 years even after they lost a ton of jobs in the Internet bubble crash. And Houston has been adding population at a much faster rate than new jobs. Obviously, those need to come into balance eventually or you've got a problem. This blurb from last week's Houston Business Journal indicates that Texas is positioning itself well to add jobs to match the incoming population. As you can see, the Sunbelt South dominates.

Survey: Texas ranked as best state for business

Texas and North Carolina have the most favorable business climates in the United States, according to a latest survey of 207 senior-level U.S. corporate executives and the site selection consultants who advise them on matters of expansion and relocation.

Rounding out the top five are South Carolina, Georgia, and Nevada. The survey was conducted by Development Counsellors International, an economic development marketing firm that has worked with more than 375 cities, states, regions and countries throughout the world to attract investors and visitors.

Credited for a favorable tax climate, business-friendly attitude and low cost of business, Texas claimed the Best State for Business title for the third consecutive survey, with 33 percent of the respondents giving the Lone Star State highest marks.

posted by Tory Gattis @ 9:01 PM